SimonM

Hey Taz, Great to see you doing such a good job of building the African flock!! A while back I did some RW jumps with John (one of the guys on the photo). I fall pretty fast but he is like a brick, so it must have been fun trying to stay with him in a wingsuit! See you soon for some jumps. Simon

weight: 83 kg (183lb) height 5'9 clasic 2 experience: wingsuit jumps 0-30 average spd (SAS): 70mph ground speed: slow (measured visually) was not improving S-Fly experience: wingsuit jumps 30-50 average spd (SAS): 60mph ground speed: medium (measured visually) was not improving S3 experience: wingsuit jumps 50-80 average spd (SAS): 50mph ground speed: fast (gps speed +-100 kph) continuing to improve on every jump, especially glide ratio and distance covered Best advice I can give is dont get too hung up on the numbers, enjoy the flights and the numbers should come. For a long while I was too focused on slowing down my descent rate and completely forgot about glide ratio/forward speed. Simon

Sorry but I dont base, so I wouldnt really know. The Milner footage looks awesome though. I presume you are in contact with the local base guys like Julian ? Simon

Let me know if you come out to South Africa, it would be great to hook up for some wingsuit jumps! Where would you be based Simon

Thanks for this, together with all the other mails, it has given me another dimension to my flight. Simon

Hi Guys, I was doing some jumps with Tonto and Taya over the weekend (S3 & GTi, I was in S3). When they dropped the hammer, they got a lot (and I mean a lot) more forward speed then I could get, however they were also dropping faster. I seemed to have a better glide ratio ie I flew past the point where they opened. However this wasnt much fun as a flocking dive. It got me thinking about the ideal 'angle of attack' for want of a better word. Firstly, what angle relative to the horizon will produce the best glide ratio. Secondly is changing this angle a good way to vary speed/lift ie when trying to stay with very floaty flockers, can you angle upwards and angle downwards when trying to stay with fast flockers. In other words put the gravity engine to use to get more or less speed when needed. Up to now I have been using my legs & body position to control speed/lift ie bend legs up to stay with slower suits. Any thoughts appreciated. Simon PS it is amazing the more I fly my suit the more I realise it so so much more like flying than skydiving!

Tonto isnt telling you that he is a Kung Fu Master, which I am sure must help......

My leg wing used to be white so the stain shows up very easily. The legs are dark blue/green and didnt show a thing. Simon

Hi All, The previous owner of my S3 jumped it with a smoke cannister (not sure how he attached it) and the suit somehow got of residue from the smoke on the leg wing and stained it green Simon

I have one of the 'previous generation' s-fly's (I bought it about 8 months ago). Looks like the same shape and fit as yours. Glad to see that the stitching is improved as mine wasnt folded and double stitched. Does your suit still have the 'inside out' zippers ? The ones I have seen have zips that look like they are reversed (with the smooth side on the outside). They are tricky to operate and at least 1 suit that I know has managed to damage the arm zipper. Have fun flying the suit, in my experience it is more floaty than a GTi and with a bit less forward speed. Although other guys in South Africa have found that the S-Fly's perform better than GTi's. I would say it is a great alternative to a GTi for somebody getting a first suit. By way of comparrison to an S3, I dont think the S-fly is really in the same category (at least when I am flying it). I get much more lift, drive and most importantly fun from my S3. The S-Fly has been sitting in the cupboard for a couple of months now, while the S3 have been working hard! Simon

Hi All, I am just starting out video filimng and was wondering if there is a remote device that you can add to a PC105 to tell you that it is recording (other than asking other people in the plane). I am sure I have seen something but couldnt find a reference in the archives. Thanks, Simon

Hi All, I am looking for a full face helmet for 'light' video work - filming RW coaching dives & some wingsuit jumps. I wear contact lenses (am am blind without them) so have always preferred a full face with visor- I currently use a Z1. Has anybody used a Bonehead Boomerang for this sort of video. Alternatively are there any other recommended helmets ? Thanks, Simon

Damn, that sounds good.

Not even close, but a man can never have too many toys. Simon

Hi All, Does anybody know how the PF suits are coming along ? Pricing, performace and release ? Cheers, Simon

Hi All, I had a spin (dont know if it was flat or not, it was happening too quickly ;-)) on the weekend on my 4th s3 jump- I wasnt concentrating properly on exit and opened up the wings asymetrically while looking over my left shoulder to try to find another Birdman. World went crazy and I went into a ball. Held it for a while, tried to open up, world still crazy, balled up again for a few seconds, flipped over and then opened up into normal flight. I am very glad I had good BMI to start with and that I had read the threads on this forum. Simon

I went from S-fly to S3 no problem. Well I have done 1 S3 jump with no problems ;-) Simon

Hi, I did a couple of flights on a classic2 before moving to an S-fly. While the basic body positions are very different, I found the flight principles, pull etc similar. I had no problems moving to the s-fly from the classic2 and cant see that you would have any real problems moving from the s-fly (although you may choose to get an s-fly after all ;-)). I have no problem flocking with GTi's in my S-Fly and from my experience the two suits are very similar. S-fly has a bit mroe lift and the GTi a bit more drive (but that may be entirely due to pilot skill). Out of interest I did my first S3 jump last weekend and will be doing more this weekend. All I can say is that the suit rocks, and rocks hard. Cheers, Simon

It looks pretty cool, would really like to see some wingsuit flights! Couple of questions: Where do you mount it in a wingsuit ? How long does it take to lock on to satellites when doing a jump from a plane ? Simon

I havnt jumped the SG (yet) and I dont know anybody who has jumped it with a GPS on. I have heard that experienced pilots can get low 30's vertical speed and it looks do able from what I have seen. Sorry I dont have a glide ratio, video or pilot details. Not very scientific I am afraid. I hadnt thought about the speed with which the SG gets flying compared to an S3, since it was a base jump that could explain it. Interesting to see possible routes for wingsuiting develeoping- max distance/speed (S3) and longer hangtime (SG/S-Fly). Finally, from the relatively little experience that I have I agree completely that the single biggest factor in performace is pilot ability. Simon

Hi All, Has anybody tried one of these on a wingsuit jump: http://www.frwd.com/ Cheers, Simon

Hi All, Couple of things on the Sugarglider: I have done a couple of jumps here in South Africa with Jewels (on the sugarglader) and me on the S-Fly. The Sugargloder has waaaay more vertical range and easily the same forward drive as the S-Fly. I understand from Jewels that when he has flown head to head with an S3, the S3 will be have more forward speed but the Sugarglider will have a better glide ratio ie fly over the point at which the S3 had to pull. From what I have seen, the quality of the suits in good enough for production. they are just *very* intimidating when you see how big they really are. Simon

I see they expect to start shipping in august, has anybody flown one of the suits ? They look brilliant! Simon

Thanks. Do you put guys outside the plane floating like an RW exit ? I havnt tried this before, but assume you must keep wings tightly tucked in. I cant visualise it since I havnt jumped an Otter, are they able to hold onto the outside handle and not have the wings catch air ? Maybe put another way, how would you do optimal flock exits from a King Air ? Simon

Very Nice!! Looks like you are jumping from a King Air. How do you get multiple people exiting ? I have been struggling to get close on exits... Simon